[astrange]

> Another reason is because of tax loss harvesting. To make that work, you have to avoid wash sales. The wash sale rule applies to you and every account you own, taxable, retirement, across brokers, etc. So to make TLH work, the broker needs to have a complete view.

It doesn't really. They like saying that because it shows off their product, but the IRS doesn't know what's in your retirement account and probably no-one has ever gotten in trouble for this. There are robos that don't coordinate it, even.

[vamega]

It really does. Here's the IRS ruling on this.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-08-05.pdf

[astrange]

They don't ask for your IRA transactions, TurboTax and other consumer products don't even try to work out wash sales between multiple brokers let alone IRAs, and Congress intentionally doesn't fund IRS investigators because they don't want them to actually enforce anything, so…

Similarly, HSAs are taxable in California but I doubt most people know this and it hasn't caused my HSA investment account to offer tax statements you could even use to report it if you wanted to. So…

[twblalock]

So your argument is that it's ok to avoid the wash sale rule because you are unlikely to get caught?

[astrange]

I would not recommend everyone in the US move to a robo just in case you accidentally claim too many capital gains losses, no.

Even better, don't read this thread, since ignorance is a defense in tax law and you're not legally required to get your taxes perfectly right.

On the other hand, it is a federal crime (fine or imprisonment not longer than six months) to walk a dog in a national park with a leash longer than 6 feet.